Harry writes up his experience programming & attending BNAT13WOLF!!!

Everyone always asks for me to write up BUTT-NUMB-A-THON and it is always a very difficult writing assignment for me. There’s so many things I can say that I usually have no idea how to begin.

This is my 4th from scratch attempt to encapsulate BNAT. I’m not sure if this will even reach the site, but I’m going to just keep typing until I have either finished the article or deleted and started anew.

Generally – I’m responsible for securing the vast majority of what reaches the screen. The Alamo Drafthouse always offers me the ability to program the trailers, but the reality is, I’d rather be surprised by what Lars programs. Usually it mirrors exactly the playful and fun-poking spirit that BNAT is about.

More than any other year, I really didn’t feel like working on BNAT13WOLF much at all. The therapy and the energy that I expend in there usually trashes me for much of the day. On a day where I don’t go to rehab, I can do all sorts of stands, walks, transfers and activities… But after the hours in Rehab, I can barely get back in and out of the car. The fatiguing is pretty insane. I know for most of you, thankfully you have no clue what I’m doing every day. Or what I’m fighting to come back from, but it is a fight I give my everything to. I know my output on the site has frankly sucked this year. My writing is the sloppiest that it has ever been. This has to do with exactly how tired I am, how the drugs to relax the muscles to let them recover have affected just about everything on those days. I’ve literally climbed over 450 miles of stairs this year. That’s absurd. Absurd. Gained 40lbs in muscle this year. Lost over a 100lbs since January. For a great deal of the year, I was just trying to reestablish the neural connections to muscle groups. Now my brain can communicate with all of them. Which is why the training has intensified. I’m tired of being trapped in this chair – and I will be getting out of it. Right now – the biggest problem is my hamstrings. They’re still pretty puny. I can stand for a minute with my knees bent… my next goal is 5 minutes. When I can do that… they begin working to teach me to walk without holding on to anything. This next year begins the pool training – in addition to the other work – and I will most likely doing 3 to 4 hours of work in Rehab a day, because my body is getting to the point where I can start doing that increased work and that is what is important to me right now.

Reclaiming my life. That’s what I think about every day. Every day, I fight my base nature that wants to just watch movies and not go to therapy and I go. I go and I go as hard as I can. Making weekly progress that gets my therapists quite excited. And myself. Because more than anything, I know what I can do that is new and every reclamation of my body is… frankly amazing to me.

SO… my work on AICN suffers and BNAT really didn’t seem incredibly important to me for most of the year. Then I saw HUGO.

HUGO is a film about a pair of children that discover the glorious history of cinema and meet one of it’s leading founding magicians. Watching the film instantly reminded me of the endless hours I spent as a child going through hundreds of cinema books that my father had… he owned a memorabilia and nostalgia business that was quite extensive. When he retired and brought the shop to live in my childhood home… I browsed its pages. Looking at still images of movies I could only dream of seeing. Flipping through the pages of every Famous Monsters of Filmland… discovering the glory of imagi-movies. The magic of the silent comedians, the monsters of film, the heroes and the ladies. Imagining what they sounded like and how they moved. Associating images with titles, faces to actors and dreaming of the films themselves. I saw a ton of classic film thanks to THE SATURDAY MORNING KIDS CLUB – which was at the University of Texas’ Union Theater and kids from all over Austin would come, make paper airplanes, eat the free popcorn and discovered cinema. CAPTAIN BLOOD, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the Harryhausen films, ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, NOSFERATU… not necessarily kiddie fare, but we ate it up. It was magic.

THE SATURDAY MORNING KIDS CLUB… that’s what BUTT-NUMB-A-THON is about. I work for months to create this one 24 hour of cinema for an audience of hardcore film loving freaks and my friends… Tim League is who originally thought of attaching it to my birthday. He’s who asked me to come up with something, originally just to screen my 16mm prints. But it evolved. Became a mixture of vintage rarities and brand new & future release movies.

Over the years, it has come to mean something different to those that come. They’ve begun projecting their own visions of the event upon it. Massawyrm called it “GEEK CHRISTMAS” – due mainly to the gift bags of cool stuff that each attendee gets to take home. Basically, the reasoning behind that – came from my desire to make the event as worth the money as humanly possible. Giving you premieres and vintage rare prints and a bag of cool stuff that usually adds up to more than the cost of the ticket… sometimes by multiples.

Folks tend to regift the items in the bag or enjoy them. They take home a full size one-sheet designed for the event, a custom limited t-shirt and all manners of eclectic fun. But most of all they take home the spirit of the event. The people that make up the audience which are all, to the one, cool fucking people. Some are High School kids. Some are mothers from far off places around the country, some travel… well this year we had a fellow travel all the way from Perth, Australia… A Bnatter let him have a spare room of their home, shuttled him around to events and basically made him feel like he was a traveling dignitary. He was. He represented AUSTRALIA this year at BNAT. Our first! Austria, Germany, Belgium, England, France and the four corners of North America. The audience comes to enjoy the show and give their money to a good cause that helps future generations of film goers have a more amazing look at cinema than would otherwise be the case.

I’m not going to write full reviews of everything played – if I did that, this article would be over 25,000 words and there is no need for that. There are plenty of articles being written and that have been published that went straight through every beat of BNAT13WOLF… describing every trailer, introduction and instead – I’ll be discussing why I chose the films to play I did and what my personal enjoyment of these films… where it came from.

HUGO kicked it off because the way I love that film, it’s the kind of love that I wish to share. I knew many of the folks in the audience had not yet seen the film. From HUGO’s box office anemia – I knew this was likely true of many in the audience. The trailers do not adequately convey the magic of the film. The joy that the movie taps into – nor the pure love for the wonder of cinema that it passes on to its viewers. HUGO is a film unlike any other in Scorsese’s film career – and has an immense amount of power to it. I’m very happy that fellow critics and film advocates have supported the film so strongly this awards season thus far.

George Melies’ TRIP TO THE MOON is another film that many of us have seen in some form. But that none of us had seen theatrically before. This had to change. Originally I wanted to play 3 of Melies shorts, but in the United States there is only one recorded print of TRIP TO THE MOON that is accessible to be shown on 35mm. His other films are in France and the cost and time needed to get them was not our ally. There was some talk of showing them off of DVD, but frankly… I wanted a 35mm experience. Shortly before BNAT began, I learned from our tech team that the final minute of the short… featuring a parade had a split up the middle of the 35mm frame. We tried to repair it, but it kept coming undone. I asked that we give it one last try and pray for a BNAT miracle. Graham Reynolds, the amazing musician that had composed an original piece for this screening had to improvise on the fly an extra minute of music because online, the versions of the film are a minute shorter. SO yeah. I was on pins and needles throughout this screening. Graham’s music was electrifying. Giving the film an amazing sense of energy and excitement – which is easily observable by the pure imagination that Melies put into the film. The film played flawlessly from beginning to end. A BNAT Miracle indeed.

Next was the 1930 Fox film, JUST IMAGINE. You can buy a copy of this on Amazon for $999.99 – but you’ll probably find renting the 35mm print from Fox to be cheaper and vastly more satisfying. I discovered this film while searching for a film to follow up the imagination of Melies with. I’d seen stills from the film. I knew the rocketship to be Zarkoff’s from the old Buster Crabbe FLASH GORDON serials. The sets were raided for that Serial and BUCK ROGERS. It was the first Hollywood Science Fiction Sound film – and it’s last for 21 years. Until 1951. I programmed this because I had to see it. Had to. They spent $250,000 (1930 dollars) to make the future model world of New York City of the far flung 1980s. The film is obviously a strong influence on George Lucas, and most film fans have never had an occasion to visit it. The vaudeville is obvious. The songs sound like they were sung into a tin can – and the jokes were old the day they were spoken. BUT the movie is a pure delight. To imagine what the world of 2061 would be without the myriad societal changes that will really occur… it is impossible, but even still… to imagine that 1980 would have us all in airplanes with horizontal take-offs and landings… Food pills. Numbers for names. Arranged by the government weddings. I do believe the film is going to be the most quoted film of this year’s BNAT next to CABIN IN THE WOODS.

Then came TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY… the first English language film by the director of the brilliant LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, Tomas Alfredson. Tomas and Gary Oldman greeted the audience before the film began – and Oldman’s pronunciation of BUTT-NUMB-A-THON brought the house down. For me, just hearing the word come from Gary Oldman’s blessed head… it was so blessedly absurd as to shake the pillars of Heaven. This was my 4th viewing of the film. I’ve watched it twice at home on my Screener, and twice in the theater. The first time back in September – and at the time – it was my pick for the Best film I’d seen all year. I love spy films. Be they of this variety or of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL variety. But my fave. The ones that make me dream of being a spy… it’s this type of film. Where it isn’t about impossible stunts and gadgetry, but the Cold War variety of watching and knowing what you’re seeing and what it means. To know the history of the time, the kinds of men it took to play the absurd chess game that was the Cold War. Today we live in an incredibly different era, but in the days of George Smiley… it was notably low tech and very deadly. Oldman’s Smiley is one of the very best performances by an actor this year – and the second best performance of BUTT-NUMB-A-THON, behind Liam Neeson’s towering performance in THE GREY… The film is played in a minor key… it is quiet, methodical and for me, electrifying. Watching Benedict Cumberbatch just chewing upon every frame he’s in, but quietly is delicious. Mark Strong’s Jim is a fantastic character. John Hurt’s Control is a wonder. Toby Jones’ self-righteous Percy is an absolute inner circle prick and he plays it with relish. Colin Firth’s Bill Haydon is fantastic. When you see the scene with Oldman’s Smiley and David Dencik’s Toby facing off… it is one of the most electric acting moments in film this year. Watching David crumble against the unmoving granite that is George Smiley is just… a wonder. This is a brandy film with a fire crackling in a chimney in the background. A thoroughly classy affair.

Now how could I not follow up a Benedict Cumberbatch performance and not play Guy Ritchie’s latest installment, SHERLOCK HOLMES: GAME OF SHADOWS. Guy welcomed the BNAT audience to this advance screening – and I have to say… this was one of a very few films that I programmed this year without seeing. That said, I really did enjoy Guy’s first outing with SHERLOCK… I love watching Robert Downey Jr play his take on the role. I also acknowledge that this is a pulpy reinvention of the literary sleuth… making him curiously closer to the feel of what a great DOC SAVAGE film should feel like. For me, the sequel is vastly more entertaining than the original. Here’s why. 1st – Stephen Fry’s Mycroft is hysterical. The nude scene with him is alone worth the price of admission. 2nd – Jared Harris’ Professor James Moriarty creates a sense of peril that I just didn’t allow Mark Strong’s character to give me. The second that I saw the final big location of the film, my sphincter began to tighten simply because of what could occur there. And I was right. There is a chess game between Holmes and Moriarty that moves from the board to the intellect to imagined hypothetical violence to a final move that is simply in a word… BRILLIANT. Electrifying and cinematic, taking us not just into the brilliant mind of Holmes, but of Moriarty and for me… this was the best hero/villain showdown of 2011. Just wow. I really like this series and hope it continues, but even moreso, I’m dying to see the next 3 installments of the BBC SHERLOCK series which begins early in this New Year! I love the character of Sherlock Holmes, always have. He’s a character that has been played with so many variances in interpretation, that I just can’t help but delight at these new takes.

Then I followed up with another investigative film… a mystery with some psychotronic flair. THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS from 1946. Written by Curt Siodmak (WOLF MAN) and starring Peter Lorre and Alan Alda’s dad, Robert Alda… it is simply a delight. Max Steiner providing a score and a disembodied left hand that murders and plays the fuck out of a grand piano. How this film came to be included in this year’s BNAT was due to one young lady’s BNAT application. She answered the question, “When did you realize you loved film?” with an answer about watching an old black & white movie at her grandmother’s house, she thought it had been introduced or starred Vincent Price – but had a hand that murdered and played the piano. She had searched for it her entire adult life, but hadn’t found out the name of the film. WELL… My parents had a friend that owned the film on 16mm, my dearly departed Uncle Bob, and for me… this was one of the great Peter Lorre mental breakdown performances… and if you love Peter Lorre, you collect his panic attacks on cinema like needle marks upon an addicts’ arm. Crazy Peter Lorre is one of my favorite things. I love it. I also love the incredibly freaky performance by Victor Francen, who plays the invalid Francis Ingram, who only has the use of his left arm – and a really creepy creeper man face that oogles the young and beautiful Andrea King… his nurse. It absolutely reminds me of my home life. LOVE IT!

At the very beginning of the whole of BNAT13WOLF, I had a special video Birthday card from Quint (Eric Vespe) in New Zealand. One of the big bummers of this year’s BNAT, was that several of its founding spirits could not come due to genuine hardship and tragedy. Quint was being forced by the nefarious Peter Jackson to record the Bilbo dwarf-filled barrel riding to Laketown sequence in the film on location in New Zealand. Now, I had been suspecting something was up for a myriad of reasons… Quint’s disappearance online, a lack of communication from Peter, a mysterious 10 minute surprise that was in the schedule… and well, I could see the narrative unfold… Seeing Orlando Bloom back in his Legolas make-up. Various dwarves and crew members… But when Ian McKellen’s Gandalf the Grey came out, I just knew… something magical was being cooked up. The result began a 10 minute black out at BUTT-NUMB-A-THON… the anxiety I was feeling was the anticipation of THE HOBBIT trailer. There was literally nothing on Earth that I wanted to see more on my birthday than THE HOBBIT trailer. When I was told it wouldn’t work… my heart sank. It was a massive, terrible cock tease of epic proportions.

When I saw the Rankin Bass animated HOBBIT when it originally aired on NBC the same year as STAR WARS. It began a lifelong love affair with Tolkein’s work. From the very first conversations I had with Peter Jackson, I had always asked, “Why not start at the beginning with THE HOBBIT?” because in my heart, the film I’ve dreamt of seeing pretty much my entire life is a great adaptation of THE HOBBIT. Through modern technological magic Warner Brothers sent up into outer space a signal that beamed back through the stratosphere into the projection room a signal carrying the first ever public screening of 48 fps Real D 3D HOBBIT Trailer. I can tell you nothing of what happened in that trailer, but I can tell you, the audience demanded that I play it again, I demanded to play it one more time on top of that. Wow.

Then it was time for THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN!

I had not seen this before seeing it at BUTT-NUMB-A-THON. I booked this one sight unseen because this was exactly how I wanted to first see it. With this audience. I was in Spielberg & Jackson & Williams & Wright & Moffat and Cornish and Herge’s hands. I knew that Michael Kahn was editing and that Weta Digital was making it all pretty! My wife knew nothing about the film, she’d seen the trailer and it just wasn’t her thing… After BNAT – it was her favorite film of the 24 hours. The one she most wants to watch again. To be fair, many of these films were her second screening. So like me, this was one of her very few fresh experiences. For me… I love it. I can easily transform into an 11 year old as it plays. Williams’ score surrounds me throughout, the since of motion and depth from the 3D is amazing. But most of all… I just loved the good natured curiosity of TinTin. Growing up as an Eagle Scout, destined to become a world traveling redheaded writer that reports on fantastical adventures around the globe… Yeah, TINTIN is my kind of thing. Andy Serkis’ Haddock is delightful. Snowy had Yoko giggling and making the cutest of delighted noises. That computer animated puppy stole her heart. Warming my own as a result. As I watch the film I realize that TinTin is a bit of a Jedi. He has the astonishing indomitable spirit of Indiana Jones. He’s a cat that always lands on his feet. He sees opportunity on the precipice of disaster and he seizes it. I loved his character. Most of all I love that it transported me completely out of the theater. It was truly what I wanted from it. There’s some brilliant cinema on display here. That it happened the way it happened is no less miraculous. The technology of something like this should freak me out, but instead I’m in awe. Remember when it was ATARI? Jesus. Wow.

I decided that I would follow up TINTIN with another animated adventurer…. Earlier this year when Moises Chiullan told me about Studio Ghibli striking brand new remastered 35mm prints of the whole Miyazaki library – and wondered if I wanted him to go after any titles in particular for Butt-Numb-A-Thon I gave him the marching orders to capture PORCO ROSSO for me. It is my favorite Miyazaki film. I was introduced to the title by Guillermo Del Toro shortly after he moved to Austin. This Halloween, I became PORCO ROSSO for the neighborhood kids and my Halloween party, but at that point it was still questionable whether or not Ghibli would have the print ready or available for us. In fact, it was just 2 and a half weeks ago that it finally came together. THANK GOD! Watching the flawless, never before had this print even been run through a projector. As it played, I was transported by the magic of Miyazaki. I am now also greatly anticipating Mondo’s upcoming poster for PORCO ROSSO. I was shocked how many hadn’t seen this film. So glad I was able to change that!

Now – before I get to the next film, let me tell you what I told the audience. In the realm of programming BUTT-NUMB-A-THON, I’ve often been given the honor to sneak films which would later go on to premiere at major film festivals. We played OLDBOY months before it World Premiered at CANNES, many films before they played SUNDANCE, SXSW, BERLIN and many other festivals, but everytime it is a delicate balance. I know many of the great festival programmers and heads of festivals and they’ve come to realize that BNAT is a very useful buzz spot where a film that isn’t quite on everyone’s radar can suddenly become something to be excited by. In order to play the next film, I agreed to talk to my audience and to ask them to not reveal the title on Twitter, nor to review the film in whole. If they were writing up a BNAT recap, they could write one paragraph and reveal the title on their website or blog. Everyone raised their hands and swore. Why? Well, that was the condition under which I got the film.

This is of course, THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, directed by Drew Goddard, who wrote the film with Joss Whedon. They played this film for me a few weeks ago. So I’ve seen it twice now – and as great as one showing is, the second showing was even stronger. The played the audience, catching them early with dialogue and humor, then really spinning them on their heads for the last act. How great is this film? So great, that Devin Faraci wrote me a leader saying that I had to program it at BNAT, and of course I had to play like it wasn’t happening. But yeah, couldn’t agree more. This film is a major major delight. It’s the kind of horror film that horror fans will love… and non-horror fans will love too, because it has that wit and that magic to it. Really hope this film explodes when it opens on April 13th! The only spoiler I’ll give is that you will see female nudity and Chris Hemsworth’s freakishly sculpted bod. You could feel the women swooning and the men dealing with undealt with issues. That man sure is purty.

When Sony came back to me wanting to play GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, it was very definitely a film I would need to see first, but I was pretty sure I was going to have a lot of fun with it. At Comic Con, their presentation was one of the surprise hits this year. Getting the online community very excited, but for me… it comes down to being the work of Neveldine & Taylor… The CRANK guys. They have an insane energy, that when paired with Cage, I was particularly curious about. I can’t write a full review right now, but I will tell you this. At BNAT – this was the film that divided the audience. That said, my biggest comic book buddies in the room, definitely had a blast with this. Two comic artists that attended really flipped for it… but the reason I did was simply this. This is a B-movie. It’s under the label of MARVEL KNIGHTS… and had Sony and Marvel gone full R-rated crazy, it might have won more in the audience over. But for me, in the same way I love BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS, I love GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE. It’s far from being a GREAT film, but it is a biker movie after all… and not of the EASY RIDER variety. No matter what, you’ll probably dig the interrogation scene quite a bit. Taylor was good enough to show up at dawn when we were playing this. Let’s just say that I’m dying for the Blu Ray of this film. The alternate version with Cage as he was on set as Ghost Rider just sounds like the most mind-bending awesomery that we all deserve to check out. Go into this as a fan of GHOST RIDER and a fan of the CRANK films and honestly, I can’t imagine being disappointed.

The very last film to play at the Alamo Drafthouse at BNAT13WOLF was Joe Carnahan’s THE GREY starring Liam Neeson. It is produced by Ridley & Tony Scott. This is a man against nature film – and it kicks unholy ass. It is due out in theaters on January 27th, 2012 – but if I were the distributor, I’d submit the film to Cannes and release the film at the end of August with a proper Academy campaign for Liam Neeson for Best Actor and Frank Grillo for Supporting Actor. I really do wish they’d play qualifying runs in New York and Los Angeles – just so this film could be in the mix – cuz right now, I’m frankly bored by a lot of the Awards fodder – and this is an extremely powerful and emotional film that doesn’t suck. It’s got teeth. Wolf teeth. If the wolves in TWILIGHT were like this, everyone would think it was cool. This film woke everybody up with fantastic storytelling, ferociously terrible situations for the characters to attempt and survive. I mean. These characters are so colossally fucked by the mere fact that their situation is one that any of us can truthfully say… would kill us. This might very well be my favorite Liam Neeson performance. It’s a movie to take Ernest Hemingway & Jack London to. A man’s man’s movie. It was definitely a popcorn early morning at the end of BNAT – but this was simply beautiful art… powerful emotional ferocity. It made us all want to stay in our theater seats for fear of just how horrible the world could be out there. I wept for all BNATTERS having to board planes.

Then, for the very last film… we boarded buses… well, the BNATTERS did, I had to drive over with Yoko… So I can neither confirm nor deny the rumor about Tom Cruise driving one of the buses. I don’t know how it started or if it happened, but it did make me laugh a lot. And I genuinely wonder.

Playing MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL at the Bob Bullock IMAX here in Austin was just how I wanted to end this year. I love Brad Bird’s films. They’re some of my most favorite films over the duration of AICN’s 15 year history. From IRON GIANT to this film, the man just dazzles me. Imagining him set loose with all the money in the world, IMAX cameras and some awesomely talented actors and Lalo Schifrin’s classic riffs for Michael Giacchino to play with and to riff from. Brad Bird does a superb job of putting the team together in failure, make them try and fail again and then create a situation that is, frankly, impossible to win. Brad sets so much pressure on the team. Isolates them. Plays on their fears and base natures and then takes them for a spin. I love watching them not just pull off perfection everytime out. I also love that the reveals are not like the reveals in the previous 3 films. As for where it falls in the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE film run? Well, I need to see it again… because at the 24 hour mark – when the film plays as one of the most beautifully lucid towering dream experiences… I just couldn’t get enough. Tom on that fucking building is just… dazzling. Just big old school Hitchcock daring and suspense… only with toys for shooting that Hitch would have loved to have had. Brad Bird has successfully and triumphantly begun his conquering of the live-action film medium. Let us pray that Andrew Stanton follows suit!

With that, BNAT13WOLF came to a close. We returned to the Alamo for beers and fellowship… I left at 3pm or so. I had arrived at 9am the day before. 30 hours. Great films, great friends and fantastic memories. Now I’d better get started on 14. It’ll sneak up on me!

This is the busiest time of the year for me work wise so I've never applied, but I hope to get the chance to go in the near future. Always sounds like a great time, and I generally see almost all of what it played. It really is a great thing Harry and his crew do every year.

I'd seen it in a theatre paired with "The Arrival of the Train to the Station" in Toronto as part of TIFF's 100 most influential films, but it was without sound! The live music made the difference, and was a perfect follow up to Hugo. Lots of great memories from this year!

I love all of these BNAT13WOLF articles. Such a blast to see everyone's perspective on the epic 24 hours of film that we saw. I am especially fond of this ”method behind the madness” breakdown of the programming. Brilliant read, Harry, both for those of us who were there and those who need to make an attempt to be there next year! Such a great lineup. Cannot wait to see what gets cooked up for next year!

Thanks, Harry. For the loathsome naysayers in talkback that deride BNAT, they have no idea and they never will. I missed it this year and am frankly planning my entire next year of life around being there next year for what BNAT represents. The friendships alone that one garners from the short and Roy Batty-esque time we have together at BNAT are beyond most people's imaginings. Indeed, when one comes home from BNAT one cannot help but feel much like Roy Batty: :I want more life..." To know that it ends is existential angst. To know that it has existed is existential joy.

I make video games and Hugo re-igniting the little inventive kid in me. I was completely surprised by it. It just blew me over. Watching the flash back scenes in the glass building. I felt like the passion for wild imaginative invention welling up in me.

You had already seen Cabin in the Woods when you wrote that stupid article about the poster and how you had no idea what the movie was about, and how vague the creators were being on the phone? At least stick to a lie when you tell it Knowles. You may have the memory of a goldfish, but your readers do not.

I think your moms box gotcha.
Glad you had fun though. That is what is important.
You should have screened Inception, as the secret film.
Why won't you revisit the film and give us eager beavers your opinion?
Seriously asking.
Keep up the good work. Your efforts are paying off.
I dare say, you looked kinda slick, in the new footage.
Peace from Oregon.

Imagine reaching the end of the festival.... the mysterious last movie.... everyone is delirious...... this movie is a surprise..... some high profile flick that is supposed to be released within the next six months......sleepy, but adrenaline is pumping.....
and the final film is ....
suddenly there is a loud ticking
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24
I'm Jack Bauer.
The following takes place between my foot and your ass.

I'd been worried. Nice to hear you're making all that progress. Keep it up. I may not know what its like to come back from where you were, but I know what it feels like to lose what you were and have to work hard to get it back. And its tough work. You just have to ignore the people who doubt you (I'm sure you already do) and stick to it. And you think it'll be fun, or somehow fulfilling to prove the naysayers wrong when you succeed. But it's not fun, and it's not fulfilling to rub their noses in it. Because you feel too good and are too busy being yourself again to even remember. But you find out over the course of it all who your real friends are, and the ones you didn't have time for will understand and still be there for you.
Just keep it up and do the best you can with the site/writing. You'll get all that back when you're done with what needs to be done.
And man... every year I think *NEXT year will be the year I apply* and then something happens and it's just impossible.
So again, this year, I'm saying next year is the year. And I probably won't get in.... it may even take years, so that means you gotta stick around for quite a while. Alright?
Also, thanks for Just Imagine. As soon as I read about it, I looked for it on YouTube and found it in its entirety. AND I LOVED every second of it! Especially the guard who seems to almost.... fall in love with Single-0. HILARIOUS! And the awkward flysex... the songs... Single-O's addiction to pills... it was all such a revelation and a blast to watch. I have no idea where this movie was hiding all these years.
Be well, Harry. Then stay that way.

I have applied twice. I hope that next year is my year. I live in a town of isolation, where there is no movie geek, no idea of the emotional power of cinema, where the projectionists don't understand their craft and even Johnny Depp bags on our cultural scene. I need a geek experience. Or maybe I just need to move . . .

Long time lurker, first time poster here to say a big CONGRATS on reclaiming your body and your life. Another year of crappy posts is worth it if you can ensure you'll be healthy and happy for decades to come. 100lbs lost is a huge accomplishment. As someone who's recovered from three major knee surgeries, I have to say the pool therapy hurts like a major bitch, but you will feel and see progress faster than you can imagine. Good luck brother.

If I could trust that his health issues were really as dire and epic as he claims they are, I'd feel bad for the guy.
Bear in mind, folks, and make no mistake: the Harry you know online is a mere persona. He comes off online like a zany, utterly good natured positive Polly uber-geek. But a brief, personal correspondence with him revealed someone very different: cold, unyielding, and chock full of self-importance.

Echoes my sentiment.
Honestly, Harry pisses me off a lot, but I do find it difficult to actually be mad at the dude. In this particular case, I'm honestly thrilled that he admits that his output on the site this year was lousy.
Does it make everything right? No. But it does show that he at least gives a shit enough to notice that we haven't been pleased.
It's like I said a month or so ago. Some time off would do him really well. In fact, Harry, if you're reading this, I'm not saying that because I don't want to read your articles or because I'm tired of you as a whole. I just agree with Chop. Some time off is probably what you need to get your groove back (and on that note, Angela takes it in the ass for sure).

Brotato gave a little bit of input (a coupon for a free DVD from the Warner archives, True Blood graphic novel, a blu-ray that I don't remember the name of) but I'd REALLY like to know what I missed out on with that.

I don't feel bad at all. I wish Harry NO ill-will or health whatsoever. I don't wish those things on anyone. But feel bad for him? How can I? How can anyone? The site is slacking. He is slacking. Step down, put your ego aside, and let someone take the reigns for a bit and GET WELL. I find it difficult to feign sympathy for people who have as many health problems as Harry claims to have, and yet continue living the lifestyle that got them to that place, but toss in some leg lifts four days a week so that they can stomp their feet like my niece and proclaim "BUT I'M TRYYYYYYING!"whenever they are called out on their bullshit.
Imagine what the exchange must have been like at Harry's last rehab session before Butt-Numb-A-Thon:
Therapist: Good work today, Harry. Next time, we will try to get you to stand for 2 minutes straight.
Harry: A full two minutes?
Therapist: Yes, the goal is to eventually have you walk like a human.
Harry: Oh.
Therapist: Any big plans for the weekend?
Harry: Well, on Saturday, I am going to the movies.
Therapist: Oh, I love going to the movies. What are you going to see?
Harry: Well, it looks like Hugo, Cabin in the Woods, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Adventures of Tin-Tin, Sherlock Holmes, Tinker Ta---
Therapist: Wait, stop. You're seeing all of those over the weekend?
Harry: In one night, actually. You see, every year I host this event for my birthday, called Butt-Numb-A-Thon. We sit in a theater for 24 hours watching film after film.
Therapist: So, on Saturday night, you're telling me that you will do nothing but watch movies for 24 hours straight, eating movie-theater food and just sitting?
Harry: YES. I do it every year.
Therapist: You do this every year?
Harry: This is the 13th year in a row.
Therapist: I quit.

Choppah is no newbie you stupid dickcheese.
Go ahead and mess with him, he will cut your sad ass up. Almost anyone here will tell you the same. I have never been his biggest fan, but I do know he is a tough fucker.

Yes AICN is a pale shadow of what it once was, I don't think even Harry would deny that.
It's mostly, I suspect, because of AICN's agreements to honor moritoriums and "pimping" certain projects, even when it's clear those projects are dog vomit, or not even related to the other genre material on AICN.
But those things won't change because of a handover. It's still Harry's site.
Frankly this site exists for the talkbacks. If it weren't for them AICN would have fallen into obscurity years and years ago because let's face it, it's pretty rare they get an exclusive or break news anymore.
It is what it is. My only point is that personally attacking Harry for his health issues is in poor taste.

Fair enough, and I agree with you. One thing (site quality) should not be attacked via another (Harry's lack of fitness). I just do not feel that we need to ultimately feel bad for his current woes, because, in my opinion, the majority of those issues are due to choices that he made and habits that he failed to discontinue. Not passing judgement or wishing bad things to happen to those types of people, just saying that my sympathy towards them is going to minimal. I do my best to not attack Harry period, as I come to his site, and see the hypocrisy in going after someone and yet continuing to read their articles. However, I found the fact that he had seen Cabin in the Woods PRIOR to the "exclusive" poster unveiling appalling, given the dog and pony act that article contained. It's one thing to be held under an NDA, and completely another to pretty much make things up to hide that fact. A simple "Here's the poster. This may be interesting. What do you guys think?" would have sufficed. There was no need for the phony, tee-hee showcase. It's just that type of shit that annoys me about this site. It's dishonest and disrespectful to the readers. Like you, I come here primarily for the talkbacks, but do still greatly enjoy Harry's DVD columns and the majority of what Quint has to say.

Back then the site design was ridiculopusly simple, just articles stacked one on top of the other, spread across the entire page with no columns. And NO talkbacks.
So now that I've pulled out my AICN cock, let me just say that once the talkbacks started, it was the beginning of an era. AICN has remained a sanctuary for the deprived and seriously fucked up, like myself, to randomly rip assholes apart and generally be completely obnoxious fuckheads. It's a beautiful thing.
But in between all that destructive commaraderie, we were also treated to some really cool shit. It's been nice to read the Hobbit stuff on here because it reminds me what this place was on a regular basis in the olden days.
For one thing, we got script reviews all the time. In fact, it was probably the bread and butter of this site. Moriarity single-handedly destroyed JJ Abrams Superman which would have sucked to a degree none of us can imagine.
It was neat to read script reviews and compare them to the films that eventually got made. Suspect Zero comes to mind. It got a radiant review here, referencing manyt hings that didn't apear in the film, and once it hit theaters, it bombed and was gone within a week. I still liked the film however. I think there was just a glut of Se7en clones at the time and it got buried.
Another that comes to mind is Catwoman. We knew YEARS in advance that film was gonna redefine "suck".And despite a valiant effort by the entire internet to convince WB they were making a POS, they pressed onward. And we all know how that turned out.
There's lots of films that went through a long review process here and unfortunately we have to get most of our information from each other now because AICN rarely gives us an inside glance anymore.
They seem to have burned their bridges with all except a few filmmakers. Rodrigues, Jackson and Stallone.....that's about it. I don't think Del Toro is returning Harry's calls anymore. Luckily Quint is respected enough that he can still go on the interview circuit.
Just pointing out that it's not "the same old AICN".

AICN isn't the wall street journal or the new york times. it's not run smooth and that's half the charm. it's cluttered. distracted. lazy. excited. poetic. whiny. passionate. just like always.
for many of us who've been around for a decade or more Harry is practically family. he's kind of the Uncle Buck of the family, yeah. but he's family. and that's because he opens his heart when he talks about movies. his very wonder and passion filled heart. and those of us who appreciate that love the guy for it. cause we feel it about movies too. and we don't come here to AICN because we want to read the boring stiff bitter analysis of films. we come for the fun messy passionate unreliable discussions.
don't be a dick to Harry. and don't pretend like you are doing it for his good or for anyone else's good. you are just doing it because you like to be a dick sometimes. well, point your dickishness at assholes who deserve it. use your dickishness powers for good. not to pick on Harry.

Its similar only in the ways you mentioned: run by geeks and frequented by geeks. But just about everything else about the site has changed.
This place used to be "cool". It used to actually report on "cool" news. Harry used to be "cool" too. I have to thank him and this site because it opened up my eyes to cinema I might not have had the chance to experience otherwise.
But come on, antonph. The quality of this site has dropped *severely* over the years. The quality of the articles, the writers. Even Harry himself has somehow gotten worse. You may still love him for it, but I just don't buy it anymore. I've got very little respect for him, and honestly, I just don't *believe* him much anymore either, he's acted so bizarrely or poorly in the past.
As Fett pointed out, this site doesn't break news much anymore, and some of that is most likely because the studios got wind of how to control Harry and other various sites too. But these guys don't even report on the cool news anymore. They recycle stories from other websites that are much better at breaking cool, geeky stories we would appreciate.
They say "well if you want to see this particular story, email us," but there have been many accounts by talkbackers of this happening without a single response (it actually happened to me this week).
I don't come here for Harry. I still come here hoping for "Cool News", like the name of the site says, and sometimes I get that. And I come here for the talkbacks, where the *real* film geek discussions can be had (when they're not full of whining and bitching that is).
But truth be told, antonph, this is not the same AICN of yesteryear, no matter how much you try to spin it.
And your last comment on "dickishness" is, I assume, addressed to the general AICN crowd and not myself, right?

Harry's preface to his review highlighted one of the most significant elements of cinema: escape! When the suffering of life threatens to overwhelm us (again and again) we can turn to the movies. They are the best drug we have when we need a break from the world. For me, Buttnumbathon is a ecstasy wrapped in LSD inside magic mushrooms... the ultimate trip the brain that whisks me away into the world of fantasy for 24 hours plus!

Got this information from a buddy who was at BNAT13. The gift bags contained:
Coupon for a dvd from the Warner Archives website
BNAT13 poster
XXXL t-shirt (one size fits most)
Blu-ray of Battlefield Earth
1 bar of Axe deodorant
50.00 coupon for the Cheesecake Factory
Firefly dvd box set
1 year subscription to Highlights magazine
1 soundtrack CD to the film Another Stakeout
1 used condom
Gift card to Long John Silvers
Alamo Drafthouse ball cap singed by Harry
"Hobbit Feet" slippers
Free airfare, hotel and a 1 hour session at the Bunny Ranch in Reno, NV (most of these were discarded in the trash after the show).
Signed 8x10 of Harry on the set of Kill Bill

Yet your writers are still pulling through. Harry, why don't you get Moriarty back? He's lost his Chutzpah since he went to the other site. I'm glad your rehab is going well. Your health is the number one priorty.

I posted this quick opinion on Quint's BNAT post, but I think it's worth repeating if makes even one person decide to see this in IMAX this weekend.
I just got back from seeing "MI:Ghost Protocol" in IMAX and right now, under the spell of adrenaline, it seems like the greatest action thriller I've ever seen. Maybe by tomorrow a cooler head will prevail, but right now this feels in the same stratosphere with "Die Hard," let alone being the best of the "Mission Impossible" films. The only thing that that holds it back from being the best action film ever made is the fact that the third act, while still extremely exciting and impactful, can't quite match a couple of the earlier setpieces. "Casino Royale," the last action thriller I thought was this good, suffered the exact same issue. The Dubai sequence did things to my psyche that few other films have ever done. My fear of windy, high buildings didn't help me, but in the middle of the sequence I realised my palms were soaked with sweat and there were times when my brain tried to get me to LOOK AWAY FROM THE SCREEN! I don't think that's happened to me since I was 8 years old attempting to face the terrors of "Jaws." Awesome sequence; great action film!

Why are you so beloved on this site? Did you post before under an alt before exploding onto the tb scene as choppah?
I say this with no ill intent as I myself have become a fan of your witty posts.
Maybe you'll get your name mentioned on tv like dannygloversdickblood.
Chop on brother.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The page was filled with news on films I didn't even know were being made. A lot of them didn't end up being made but it was entertaining and not just for the talkbacks which, me included, is the only reason people come by these days.
No, it is not the same aint it cool as it used to be. If you were here for the beginning you would know that. Previous alts: Nootch, Sailor Rip, and a few others I forget.

As always, just reading an article about BNAT makes me super giddy yet jealous at the same time.
Gah! I really have to submit an application next year.
Way to go. Sounds like you've really taken responsibility for your own future.
You're not just following the program, you're pushing yourself, and that's the way to get shit done!
I hope you're aware that I'm expecting a special post-therapy, hi-res, full-color all-Harry calendar in the future when you unveil your new form.
Oh, and each month should have a bit of cinema-related wellness advice.

One of the best things, actually, THE BEST THING about this site (the talkbacks) is the freedom of speech you can't get anywhere else. But if you are actually deleting posts and people, you have lost, my old friend.

Very good film, though a bit overhyped thanks to all these glowing reviews. All the acclaim had my mind reeling for monumental (Wall-E type) levels of heavenly bliss. What I found was just a very good film. Not so much a complaint, just an observation on a slight disappointment too much hype can disillusion one's expectations.
As for films about the love of films, I found "Be Kind, Rewind" to be far more emotional and
captivating when it comes to the subject.
Though, there is a sort of "god" of that category of film which goes to the honor of "Cinema Paradiso". Though I only saw the director's cut.
And to add my pimpage of a certain unheralded-in-these-parts series: Hugo loving that machine and seeing it as a connection to his purpose in life and it being an object representing his father's death with a mysterious aura, reminded me of John Connor and his love for machines that are invariably connected to his purpose in life added to his father (of whom he never met) and his death.
I would think about Cameron and how John supposedly created her and sent her back with John wondering why he would do such a thing to his younger self without a clear explanation. Also, the questionable purpose of his life and how he fits in and why.

I've never attended, but I enjoy reading about BNAT. I haven't noticed that any fans have written in about their experience---I always kind of liked that---certainly like it more than just info about the films.
Harry and his staff do great jobs writing up BNAT, but I would just like to hear from some regular folks who got invited.